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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — an amount
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rash — hasty
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. degree — from a university
  10. vault — a safe
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — for dancing
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pop — soda
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. club — a group
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pop — to visit
  20. rash — a series
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pop — music
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. stem — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com